Nightmares
by Ronin Setora
Summary: The nightmares that haunt Vincent inside his coffin deep within the Shinra mansion


Nightmares  
Ronin Setora  
12.15.02  
  
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An endless void consumed all sound, cloked all images but that of one   
doctor and a man strapped to a table. An unseen light source casted ominous   
shadows on the floor from the instruments weilded by the doctor. A needle   
plunged into the side of the man, his lips mouthing unintelligibly in silent   
pain. A patch and wire were hooked to his chest as his body suffered stiff   
spasms, a distant howl like that of a wounded lion fell from his pale, broken   
lips. Finally his eyes fluttered to a close while the doctor scratched upon   
his notepad with glee.  
  
Bewildered eyes opened to nearby darkened oak. Energy sparkled in those   
eyes as focus came and a troubled mind found peace. In a slow, stiff movement,   
his hand pushed slightly against the heavy wooden obstacle which sent it in a   
gentle backgward arc. The raven-haired man rose slowly to a site though his   
eyes darted about the small room. Within moments, his mind brought about a   
faint memory of the place, of his "burial" inside the coffin deep beneath the   
Shinra Mansion of Nibelheim.  
He could feel the rage of the beast within him in his heart and sensed   
his own hatred of the place.  
Vincent lay back down, to be haunted by his demons only in sleep.  
  
A fighteningly quick beat rate was that of his heart. Pain tore through   
him as his fingers and body morphed, darkened black and wings sprouted from   
his back. His hair pulled forward and twisted into twin horns as claws   
emerged from his tough fingers. A final second of increased heart rate before   
he hovered, by only the slightest beat of wing. Dark flame licked around his   
eyes and he bore fangs. A surge of adrenaline shot through his system and he   
flew over the destroyed operating table, lashed out at the doctor, felt warm   
blood drip from his forearm...  
  
Vincent woke again in a flash, cold sweat pouring from his brow. He   
breathed deeply while he thought over the dream. He shut his eyes with a sigh   
and recalls the true terrors of his past.  
"Why... why am I haunted by these things long passed? What is so...   
evil that approaches that I must be reminded of these horrors?"  
Vincent rose from his coffin to retrieve the lid and noticed some   
papers attached to the wall. His stony face broke, his lips fell just   
slightly and a single tear formed in his eye. With a deep breath and shake of   
the head, his recollection of Lucrecia, and her ghost like image writing upon   
those papers, faded away.  
He lay back to the rough base of the coffin, adjusted the lid, crossed   
his hands upon his chest and shut his eyes, hoping to escape the apparition   
of his love.  
  
His dream-eyes opened to a green liquid flowing about him. A gag, then   
realization that breath could be taken. His left arm felt strangely heavy and   
his pulse twice normal. He could see someone in a labcoat approach him,   
observe him, note him in a small book. He found that his vision allowed sight   
of the racks of books far down the hall, permitted him to see the two people   
at the end of the hallway, both positioned around the table. He could hear   
their voices but understood nothing.  
His eyes shut again but his sleep was soon interupted by the draining   
of the liquid around him and contact with the floor by his feet and hands. He   
breathed deeply the open, but stale air about him, happy to be released from   
the tube.  
"Hmm... Normal breathing rate -considering the circumstances-. Doubled   
beats per minute. Enhanced senses."  
As he spoke, the man Vincent had seen noting him before listed all his   
comments in the same book. A faint memory of this man came to Vincent before   
the scientist spoke again.  
"Well Mr. Valentine, the operation is complete... though we regret the   
poorly timed loss of our only doctor for this purpose. What happens happens I   
suppose."  
Vincent could see the words he wished to say in his mind but all that   
came out were moans and low growls.  
"You make a very successful subject Mr. Valentine."  
Vincent growled again, the rage that came with the last transformation   
overcoming him. His eyes changed to dark fire, his muscles felt torn, ripped   
from the very bone they hugged. Wings began to sprout from his mostly naked   
body as his mouth opened to sharp fangs once more...  
  
Vincent woke, nauseated, the smell of the blood from long ago so vivid   
in his memory he could taste it. He remembered the man's limbs almost falling   
off his body, felt his screams deep in his heart. He let loose a howl as he   
punched through the lid of the coffin he had long been confined in.  
"Something... is not right. A dark prescence is nearby... -Sephiroth...?-  
no..." Vincent whispered to himself before he floated swiftly out of the box, his eyes  
meeting those of a man.  
The man, with blonde hair and large sword riding upon his back, stared   
at Vincent in awe. The raven-haired gunman glared at Cloud, hatred for his   
Mako Eyes. Before either spoke, Vincent thought to himself,  
"Perhaps this... is what really haunts me."  
  
~Owari  
  
Erm... if you know Cloud well, you know at this point of the game he   
still wasn't... himself (-keeping spoilers down-)... Things would happen   
later that assured Vincent of what he believes here in this story.  
Review Please!!!! 


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